Along with all the evil deeds Auden saw firsthand, news of a new world conflict may have put him into an emotional state of grief and inspired him to document his feelings. It also highlights the reasons why war broke out in the past, making allusions to historical figures. Auden explains, “Careful study can bring to light Luther's entire offense thus far” and “What drove a whole culture mad, find out what happened in Linz” (lines 12-16). Differences in cultural and religious opinions always find a way to carry on war, so Auden uses this allusion to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation to explain why Germany invaded Poland As HW Auden continues to describe current events he stops to ask questions rhetoric and addresses it to the person most responsible for initiating this great second conflict states "What an enormous image made a psychopathic god" and "I and the audience know that those to whom evil is done do evil in return" (lines 17-22) as Auden reflects on the probable circumstances that caused Hitler to come to power. He further states that he and the audience know by common knowledge that this event will bring with it a cloud of malice and evil deeds.